The result was extremely high patient satisfaction, a substantial reduction in unnecessary utilization, and a significant overall cost savings.”

“We developed unique, individualized care pathways for navigating cancer patients, based on a proprietary model of continuous patient assessment, and then provided the navigators with extensive training in cancer care coordination and navigation. “While the concept of patient care coordination using non-clinical patient navigators is not new, in the Patient Care Connect model, we championed a novel approach to supporting and empowering cancer patients to overcome health system barriers, addressing treatment complications earlier, and getting the information they need to make more informed choices about their care options,” said Warren Smedley, Health System Service Line Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and co-author of the CMMI patient navigation grant. The program produced substantial improvements in patient satisfaction and reductions in unnecessary utilization and gave rise to one of UAB’s most recent ventures, Guideway Care. The lay navigators played a crucial role in helping coordinate care for cancer patients receiving treatment at these facilities, helping connect them with vital resources and breaking down any barriers encountered by the patients. One of these models, Patient Care Connect, was an innovative program of lay patient navigation that spanned 12 hospitals across the southeast, funded by a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). UAB Medicine has been a leader in developing innovative health care models to address whole-person health for many years. Unfortunately, models that utilize clinical resources to address these non-clinical factors are not economically feasible long-term. Many have redirected expensive clinical resources, including nurses, towards tackling these non-clinical issues. Providers have struggled to find effective ways to address these types of non-clinical issues that have an overwhelming impact on patient health. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation¹ research paper noted that health care accounted for only 10% of the factors leading to premature death, while social and environmental factors combined with individual behaviors made up a total of 60%. Multiple alternative payment models are being introduced that will reward providers for the value of care versus volume and support the now-foundational concept of the Triple Aim-improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of health care.Īs the requirements for alternative payment models are rolled out, it has become clear that the ability to impact a patient’s total health, and not just their healthcare, will be crucial for success. continue to move towards value-based care, which will better align the financial incentives to enhance the patient centered focus of care, reduce unnecessary utilization, and reward providers for improved efficiency. in Healthcare Quality and Safety), and looks at one of UAB’s most recent ventures, Guideway Care. This approach aligns with the Triple Aim to improve the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction), improve the health of populations and reduce the per capita cost of health care.This edited article features Warren Smedley, UAB Health System Service Line Director and double-HSA alumnus (Executive MSHA and M.S. Implement alternative payment models to sustain needed services.Build networks or partnerships with community stakeholders-including other hospitals or health systems, clinics, social service agencies, and local and state organizations-to coordinate care.Integrate behavioral and physical health care services.Case studies in the guide provide examples of how hospital and health systems, working with community partners, can improve the quality of and access to behavioral health care, while bending the cost curve and improving community health.Įffectively addressing behavioral health issues in the community calls for hospitals and health systems to: The new HPOE guide “Triple Aim Strategies to Improve Behavioral Health Care” describes strategies, action steps and examples for hospitals, health systems and community stakeholders working together to develop a well-coordinated, accessible, affordable and accountable system for delivering behavioral health care. Triple Aim Strategies to Improve Behavioral Health Care

Triple aim healthcare